EX-ADDICT JOINS PUSH FOR NALTREXONE FUNDS

AFTER spending a third of her life on heroin, one-time user Bibe Best has
sworn off all drugs, except one.

And that's the one that helped save her almost a year ago.

Ms Best is a Naltrexone success story -- one of the many who have taken the
controversial heroin detoxification drug and stayed clean 12 months later.

She was also one of up to 50 supporters who rallied yesterday at Parliament
House in Brisbane to call for cheaper, easier access to the drug.

With a heroin habit that began at age 14, Ms Best had ``done detox'' and
``done rehab'' before enlisting in the Naltrexone programme.

``I never had a problem with getting clean. It was staying clean,'' she said.

Since she finished a six-month treatment a year ago, Ms Best hasn't looked
back.

But for others, the price tag for treatment -- an upfront $500 fee and $200
monthly bill for tablets -- means they'll never have the chance to move
forward, said Stuart Reece, principal doctor at Brisbane's biggest
Naltrexone clinic. He said dozens of opiate addicts a week were being
denied the chance to kick their habit because of the lack of government
subsidies for the drug.

Federal authorities decided against subsidising Naltrexone for opiate
addicts in December 1999, amid debate in the medical profession over its
benefits and dangers.

Dr Reece said while Naltrexone wasn't a cure-all for addictions, it was a
``gateway to freedom'' for many.